Vehicle software security using Gödel numbering

Abstract

Software security techniques for a vehicle include defining a plurality of waypoints within the plurality of operations of a software executed by a control system of the vehicle and defining a plurality of operations, applying Gödel numbering to the software by (i) assigning a unique integer to each of the plurality of waypoints and (ii) assigning a unique prime number to each sequential operation of the plurality of operations, calculating a Gödel number for an executed sequence of the plurality of operations, comparing the calculated Gödel number to a set of acceptable Gödel numbers corresponding to a set of acceptable sequences for executing the plurality of operations, and when the calculated Gödel number does not match any of the set of acceptable Gödel numbers, controlling, by the control system, a vehicle sub-system according to a remedial or corrective action.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A software security system for a vehicle, the software security system comprising:
 a control system configured to control operation of the vehicle; 
 a vehicle sub-system configured to be electronically controlled by the control system via software executed by the control system, wherein the software defines a plurality of operations; and 
 wherein the control system is further configured to:
 define a plurality of waypoints within the plurality of operations of the software; 
 apply Gödel numbering to the software by (i) assigning a unique integer to each of the plurality of waypoints and (ii) assigning a unique prime number to each sequential operation of the plurality of operations; 
 calculate a Gödel number for an executed sequence of the plurality of operations; 
 compare the calculated Gödel number to a set of acceptable Gödel numbers corresponding to a set of acceptable sequences for executing the plurality of operations; and 
 when the calculated Gödel number does not match any of the set of acceptable Gödel numbers, control the vehicle sub-system according to a remedial or corrective action. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The software security system of  claim 1 , wherein the vehicle sub-system is a drive-by-wire system in which the vehicle sub-system is configured to electromechanically control a corresponding vehicle actuator in response to electronic control signals from the control system. 
     
     
       3. The software security system of  claim 2 , wherein the vehicle sub-system includes at least one of an electric motor system, a brake system, and a transmission system. 
     
     
       4. The software security system of  claim 2 , wherein the vehicle sub-system includes a plurality of independent and interconnected drive-by-wire systems. 
     
     
       5. The software security system of  claim 1 , wherein the software is executed asynchronously by the control system. 
     
     
       6. The software security system of  claim 5 , wherein the software is partially executed by at least two independent controllers of the control system or by at least two independent cores of a single processor of the control system. 
     
     
       7. The software security system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to control the vehicle sub-system according to the remedial or corrective action without resetting the control system and is further configured to generate or maintain an error log detailing any executed sequences of operations having unmatched calculated Gödel numbers. 
     
     
       8. The software security system of  claim 7 , wherein the control system is configured to intelligently analyze a particular error in the error log by decomposing the calculated Gödel number value via prime number factoring to identify where in the executed sequence of the plurality of operations the error occurred. 
     
     
       9. The software security system of  claim 8 , wherein the control system is configured to perform self-learning based on the logged/stored and analyzed errors. 
     
     
       10. A software security method for a vehicle, the software security method comprising:
 providing a control system configured to control operation of the vehicle; 
 providing a vehicle sub-system configured to be electronically controlled by the control system via software executed by the control system, wherein the software defines a plurality of operations; 
 defining, by the control system, a plurality of waypoints within the plurality of operations of the software; 
 applying, by the control system, Gödel numbering to the software by (i) assigning a unique integer to each of the plurality of waypoints and (ii) assigning a unique prime number to each sequential operation of the plurality of operations; 
 calculating, by the control system, a Gödel number for an executed sequence of the plurality of operations; 
 comparing, by the control system, the calculated Gödel number to a set of acceptable Gödel numbers corresponding to a set of acceptable sequences for executing the plurality of operations; and 
 controlling, by the control system, the vehicle sub-system according to a remedial or corrective action when the calculated Gödel number does not match any of the set of acceptable Gödel numbers. 
 
     
     
       11. The software security method of  claim 10 , wherein the vehicle sub-system is a drive-by-wire system in which the vehicle sub-system is configured to electromechanically control a corresponding vehicle actuator in response to electronic control signals from the control system. 
     
     
       12. The software security method of  claim 11 , wherein the vehicle sub-system includes at least one of an electric motor system, a brake system, and a transmission system. 
     
     
       13. The software security method of  claim 11 , wherein the vehicle sub-system includes a plurality of independent and interconnected drive-by-wire systems. 
     
     
       14. The software security method of  claim 10 , wherein the software is executed asynchronously by the control system. 
     
     
       15. The software security method of  claim 14 , wherein the software is partially executed by at least two independent controllers of the control system or by at least two independent cores of a single processor of the control system. 
     
     
       16. The software security method of  claim 10 , wherein the control system is configured to control the vehicle sub-system according to the remedial or corrective action without resetting the control system, and wherein the method further comprises generating or maintaining, by the control system, an error log detailing any executed sequences of operations having unmatched calculated Gödel numbers. 
     
     
       17. The software security method of  claim 16 , further comprising intelligently analyzing, by the control system, a particular error in the error log by decomposing the calculated Gödel number value via prime number factoring to identify where in the executed sequence of the plurality of operations the error occurred. 
     
     
       18. The software security method of  claim 17 , further comprising performing, by the control system, self-learning based on the logged/stored and analyzed errors.